I don't know if you know this, but Black women take their hair seriously. With hair that can have a range of textures and be incredibly versatile, but also heavily policed and scrutinized, it's a serious matter. It has to look right. Many Black women go to great lengths, whether it be time, money, or a few hurt feelings, to achieve the hair look we want.
But those attitudes don't begin at the entrance into womanhood. In fact, they start young. One adorable little Black girl on TikTok showed us just how particular she is about her hair, and it's got the internet talking.
Harmony's mother often does her hair in the mirror.
The Hanna family share the day-to-day happenings of their lives on TikTok. Many of their videos include Harmony standing in the mirror getting her hair done by her mother. Although her "stylist" works for free, Harmony is not shy about speaking her mind when it comes to how she would like her hair to look.
In a video that has now been viewed over 2 million times, Harmony tells her mother exactly what she would like.
Harmony wanted two braids, but her mother heard three.
On this particular day, something got lost in translation. Harmony wanted two braids, one on each side of her head. She communicated this clearly, but her mother heard two on the side and one in the back. So that's what she did.
Harmony was not only clear in her instructions, she was also quick to communicate her displeasure at the end result. Once she realized there were three braids instead of two, she immediately let her mother know it wasn't what she'd asked for.
When Harmony saw the three braids, she let her mom know that wasn't right.
“I didn’t ask for that in the back. I only want this only. Not the back,” she said. Her mother got her a snack and graciously took Harmony’s hair down to redo it according to her original instructions.
Once it was redone, Harmony’s eyes lit up as she looked in the mirror. “Wow, wow. Thank you!” she said to her mother. And then later, more to herself, “I look so cute.” Her mother affirmed her, “You are cute.”
It was a sweet mother-daughter moment, but the conversation shifted when someone on Twitter called Harmony demanding.
The word "demanding" arguably has a negative connotation. The Twitter user who shared it on their personal page was quick to defend not only Harmony, but other Black girls and women who've received that type of unfair characterization for being even the least bit assertive.
"She's not demanding. The way some of you ww are choosing to see our children is problematic. please move along to some other tl," the Twitter user wrote in response.
Ultimately, people concluded the communication skills Harmony's learning now will serve her well into adulthood.
Thankfully, the woman recognized the error in her word choice and graciously apologized. Other people spoke about the lessons Harmony is learning about communicating her desires in the safe space of her own home, with her mother.
Many are sure that these skills will transfer to other areas of her life, or at least ensure that she's not one of those women who leave the beauty shop unhappy because she's too afraid to speak her mind.
